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History of the Game of Hadleys

When Tony Hadley of popular band Spandau Ballet invented the game of Hadleys back in 1986 nobody, not even Tony himself could have imagined the effect it would have on popular culture to this day. But where did it all begin and how did a game played amongst a selected few become such a popular past-time for a whole nation, so popular in fact that today it is more popular than Spandau themselves! Read on to learn the incredible truth behind an incredible game...

  Tony Hadley sporting his well known "Chuffers Charm" look in 1988

The Early Days

Spandau Ballet had been a somewhat established band for many years when they set out on their "Turtle-neck Tour" of Great Britain and Japan in late 1986, but for one member of the group this tour would not be remembered for the 10 'roadies' who died setting up elaborate stage sets for the group, nor the lighting rig which plummeted into the crowd killing 50 members of the audience in Beijing, for Tony Hadley it would be his beloved game that would leave its mark on his memory for the rest of his life.

During the tour tensions within the group came to head when travelling from Woking to Cambridge on their world famous tour bus the "Spandau Ballerina." Tony had sought refuge in the on-board toilet when the Kemp brothers had drunkenly decided to start playing a game of tag whilst under the influence of alcohol. "They were like wild animals, first Martin was 'it' and then Gary and then Martin was 'it' again. It was just too much for me to bare so I sought refuge in the only place I thought safe - the toilet", said a bewildered Hadley when describing the tour some years later. Whilst in this tumultuous predicament Tony began to think of ways to keep himself amused to whittle away the monotony of his seclusion. Sources close to the singer said that he had been in the toilet for around 2 hours when he finally emerged shouting "eureka" at the top of his voice. He then outlined the general rules of Hadleys to the rest of the group in the hope that it would keep the Kemp brothers subdued. His plan was successful and they played well into the night until they reached their destination.


Commercial Success

Throughout the mid to late eighties word of Tony's fantastic game spread far and wide leading to the inevitable collapse of the band. The tensions reached a head when performing a gig in Llandudno the Kemp brothers both walked off stage in protest at the crowd shouting "Hadleys, hadleys we want to play hadleys!"

It seemed that word of the game had spread initially from 'roadies' the group had hired, who had often been invited to play a game or two with the band whilst on tour. These 'roadies' had then told their families and friends about the game until everybody in the UK was aware of this incrdible phenomenon.

When the group disbanded Tony decided to dedicate his time towards creating a commercially available hadley set that would be affordable to the masses, but unfortunately he had never patented his game and just before he was due to release his "Deluxe Hadleys Game Set" one of the roadies he had shared his secret with released a set himself having patented the game some time before.

This first set is what we now know and love as the game of hadleys, but it is often said that Tony's game had more edge and unpredictability to it, and its release has been long awaited by ardent fanatics of the game.